Filing receptacle and adapting device



March 4, 1958 F. L. WASSELL FILING 'RECEPTACLE AND ADAPTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 12, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. .FRANK LLOYD WASSELL March 1958 F. L. WASSELL FILING RECEPTACLE AND ADAPTING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12

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I FILING RECEPTACLE' AND ADAPTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 12, 1954 2,825,341 FEE-ENG RECEFTACLE AND ADAPTING DEVICE Frank Lloyd Wasseil, Westport, Conn, assignor to Gent-gene Par-kin Wasseil, Westport, Conn.

Application February 12, 1954, Serial No. 309,95 7 Claims. (Cl. 129-16) The present invention relates to a filing receptacle for certain types of business machine cards and to an adapting device for a filing drawer.

In my United States Patent, 2,687,732, issued on August 31, 1954, there is described and claimed a card for use in business machines which card is formed with a plurality of parallel sides with at least two of the corners of the card being cut away. For example, one modification of that invention is a card which has its two lower corners cut away to provide beveled corners. Cards of this type are specifically designed for use in combination with guide or index cards of generally the same shape and size but which contain no beveled corners or which have corners with shorter bevels than the subject matter card.

There is also described in the aforesaid copending application a tray or other receptacle which can be used for the storage of cards of the aforesaid type and which is provided with sloping corners at the bottom of such form as to receive the beveled edges of the filed cards.

it frequently happens that persons desirous of converting an existing filing system to the use of cards of the above description do not possess a filing receptacle or drawer of the necessary size and shape but they may, and often do, have used, outmoded filing drawers which in the usual case would be discarded. It amounts to considerable expense, of course, to purchase new filing receptacles when converting a filing system to the type of card shown in my aforesaid copending application and, for this reason, 'it is desirable when possible to convert the old filing drawers to make them suitable for filing the aforesaid type of business machine card.

It is one object of the present invention to provide an adapting device which can be placed inside of a filing drawer to adapt the drawer to the filing and storage of the aforesaid type of business machine card.

It is another object of the invention to provide a filing receptacle in the form of a converted file drawer of the ordinary type which receptacle is useful for the filing and storage of the business machine cards hereinabove described.

Numerous other objects and also advantages of the invention will become apparent as it is described in a greater detail in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in perspective of an adapting device constructed in accordance with the present invention, such device being illustratively designed for placement in the angle formed by the bottom and left side of a filing drawer, and referred to hereinafter as the primary adapting device;

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of another adapting device, such device being illustratively designed for placement along the angle formed by the bottom and right side of a filing drawer, and referred to hereinafter as the secondary adapting device;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a filing receptacle constructed in accordance with the invention showing the devices of Figs. 1 and 2 in place therein along with other cooperating structure;

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of the filing receptacle shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a modified form of filing receptacle constructed in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing, the primary adapting device shown therein is illustrated as being formed of a unitary piece of metal. Its component parts are a vertical guide strip 1 which extends substantially the entire length of the device, a horizontal flange 2 which is approximately the same length as the vertical guide strip 1, a card supporting shoulder 3, a notch 4 and vertical end members 6 and 7. The upper portion of the vertical guide strip 1 is slanted outwardly for a purpose later to appear.

In Fig. 2 the secondary adapting device is illustratively shown as a unitary piece of metal composed of a horizontal flange 8, a vertical member 9, card supporting shoulder 1t} and vertical end members 11 and 12.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 there is illustrated a filing receptacle which comprises a filing drawer A (shown in dotted lines) in which the primary adapting device of Fig. 1 is removably placed along the angle formed by the bot-' tom and left side of the drawer and the secondary adapting device of Fig. 2 is removably placed along the angle formed by the right side and bottom of the drawer. In addition to the two adapting devices there is provided a leaf spring 5 which is keyed into the notch 4 of the primary adapting device, a front plate 13 having punched out projections 14 and 14 which slideably engage the front vertical end members 6 and 11 of the primary and secondary filing devices respectively, and a rear plate 15 having punched out projections 16 and 16 which slideably engages the rear vertical end members 7 and 12 of the primary'and secondary filing devices, respectively. Also shown in dotted lines is a filing card 17 the two bottom corners of which are beveled and rest upon the card supporting shoulders 3 and 10 of the primary and secondary adapting devices.

It can be seen from Figs. 3 to 5 that the filing receptacle therein illustrated provides a convenient means for storing business machine cards of the type defined in my aforementioned copending application and simultaneously provides a means of utilizing outmoded filing drawers which in the ordinary situation would be discarded.

A principal feature of the filing receptacle is that the drawer from which it is formed in part need not be of exact size for the cards and, in fact, may be considerably larger than the cards. This is made possible by the cooperation between the primary adapting device and the leaf spring 5, the latter tending to urge the device toward the bottom center of the filing drawer but proper spaced relationship between the primary and secondary adapting devices being maintained by the front and rear plates 13 and 15 and by the cards themselves.

It is also of noticeable advantage that the insertion of cards into the receptacle is facilitated by the outwardly tapered portion of the vertical guide strip 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view looking toward the rear of a modified form of filing device in which a filing drawer B (shown in dotted lines) is equipped with a permanently attached follower guide 18 of the conventional type which is slideably mounted on rod 19. In this modification the rear vertical end members 7 and i" the adapting devices 9 are absent so that the devices are insertable beneath the 1 follower guide. Also absent is rear plate 15. 'In other and then substantially parallel to the wall to grip the abutting end portion of the first member between the wall and the extension, said extensions providing mechanical coupling of said plates and said first member which are shiftable by forcible transverse sliding of said first member with respect to said plates to permit adjustment in the transverse spacing of said members, said couplings maintaining said first member at right angles to said plates during said sliding action, a resilient spring adapted to be interposed between one of said members and a wall of said drawer to urge said first member towards the drawer center by a force which precludes shifting in position of said device in said drawer but which is less than the sliding force inducing shifting of said couplings, and means for afixing said resilient spring to said one member.

5. A filing device according to claim 1 in which at least one of said members comprises a vertical guide strip upstanding from the rear of the shoulder thereof.

6. A filing receptacle according to claim 5 in which said vertical guide strip has an outwardly slanted upper portion, whereby insertion of cards into the device is facilitated.

7. A device according to claim 3 in which the means for affixing said resilient spring comprises a recess formed in said one member on the side away from the shoulder thereof, said recess being adapted for attaching a resilient spring in the form of a leaf spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS 664,501 Rand Dec. 25, 1900 874,442 Sandel Dec. 24, 1907 1,200,517 Ohnstrand Oct. 10, 1916 1,268,143 Palmgren June 4, 1918 1,360,617 Brand Nov. 30, 1920 1,795,152 Stewart Mar. 3, 1931 1,982,504 Elliott Nov. 27, 1934 

